One night in July last year I was woken by a loud low buzzing as something large and striped landed on my ear. Instinctively I swatted it away, reached for the light, and discovered I had a rather large hornet buzzing around the room.

Now July is the month the tabloids start running Asian Hornet scare-stories. Apparently, if just one Asian hornet queen manages to breed in the UK, our indigenous wasps and Hornets will be destroyed, our orchards devastated, and ultimately the government will fall, or something like that. And so determined to do my bit for Queen and Country, I resolved to vanquish this invader, until I remembered that not everything you read in the tabloids is true, put down the fly swatter and picked up a glass and postcard instead.

After a few slightly scary minutes of “catch the hornet”, the disturber of my peace turned out to be a rather large, but indigenous, European Hornet. And then because it was getting pretty angry at being confined, I took it outside and released it! Sorry if it flew into your house instead.

Now inevitably there’s a sting to this tale! But it isn’t about our attitude to immigration and foreign invaders, it’s about gratitude! You see, as I drifted back off to sleep I had a rather odd thought: what did hornet think when I released it? Was it grateful I didn’t kill it or were its thoughts so wrapped up in itself that all it could think was, ‘Didn’t I do well to escape there’?

Now in the cold light of day, I don’t suppose the hornet thought either of those things – but the mind does strange things at two o’clock in the morning – and mine started thinking about some of the times when I’ve thought “Didn’t I do well there?” When really I should have been saying thank-you to all the people who helped – and most especially saying thank-you to the God who makes all things possible and who loves to bless and heal and free his people.

One of the books in the Bible is a songbook largely written by an Israelite king called David. Here’s how one of his songs begins, “I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” (Psalm 9:1) Singing that song was David’s way of helping his mind move from being all wrapped up in itself, to a position of gratitude.

And the reason David wanted to do that is he instinctively knew what the psychologists will tell you: that being grateful is good for you! According to the scientists, grateful people have more friends, are healthier, happier, less prone to being angry, feel better about themselves, and are stronger and more resilient in the face of hardship. They even sleep better (except when disturbed by a hornet).

Gratitude is good for us! We shouldn’t say “If only life were better, I’d be grateful” instead we need to learn that being grateful makes life better. The more grateful we are, the better life will be. And that’s why gratitude is good for us.

May you enjoy the rest of our summer – and give thanks for all the good things in it. Even Hornets!

First published in the Bridge Magazine, August 2019